Shamakhani: Iran Returns to Talks With Biden Only If 'Sanctions Removed'

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in Tehran, Iran, January 17, 2017. (Ebrahim Noroozi/ AP/ File)
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in Tehran, Iran, January 17, 2017. (Ebrahim Noroozi/ AP/ File)
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Shamakhani: Iran Returns to Talks With Biden Only If 'Sanctions Removed'

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in Tehran, Iran, January 17, 2017. (Ebrahim Noroozi/ AP/ File)
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani in Tehran, Iran, January 17, 2017. (Ebrahim Noroozi/ AP/ File)

Iran said Sunday the issue of US return to the 2015 nuclear deal is “worthless” if all anti-Iran sanctions are not removed.

“The full and definite removal of all sanctions is Washington’s only option to return from (outgoing US President Donald) Trump’s failed strategy of maximum pressure,” said Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC).

In a Sunday tweet with the hashtag #Active_Resistance, he said, “The US war of perception aimed at exaggerating a worthless issue like the country’s return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will go nowhere.”

In return, President-elect Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN that as soon as Iran re-entered compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, there would be a “follow-on negotiation” over its missile capabilities.

He said that Trump’s actions towards Iran did not make the US safer or protect the US national interests.

“Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon today than they were one year ago,” Sullivan said.

Meanwhile, a new draft law was presented to the Iranian Parliament to ban direct talks with the US government or in the presence of US representatives “unless Washington officially apologizes for exiting the Nuclear Deal and condemns the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani.”

The draft law also stipulates taking financial compensations from the US and European countries in return for the US withdrawal from the JCPOA.

Last month, the Guardian Council of Iran approved a bill passed by the Iranian Parliament, entitled “Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions and Protect Iranian Nation’s Interests” requesting that the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran fulfills in full and without any delay, the country’s demand for uranium enriched above 20% for peaceful purposes.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had informed it of its plans to enrich to a purity of up to 20% at its Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.



Iran’s President Says Tehran Open to Dialogue with US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
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Iran’s President Says Tehran Open to Dialogue with US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via Reuter

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he believes Iran can resolve its differences with the United States through dialogue, but trust would be an issue after US and Israeli attacks on his country, according to an interview released on Monday.

"I am of the belief that we could very much easily resolve our differences and conflicts with the United States through dialogue and talks," Pezeshkian told conservative US podcaster Tucker Carlson in an interview conducted on Saturday.

The Iranian leader urged US President Donald Trump not to be drawn into war with Iran by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is visiting Washington on Monday for talks at the White House.

"The United States' president, Mr. Trump, he is capable enough to guide the region towards the peace and a brighter future and put Israel in its place. Or get into a pit, an endless pit, or a swamp," Pezeshkian said. "So it is up to the United States president to choose which path."

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said she was not sure if Trump had seen the Iranian president's comments, but agreed he was the right man to move the region towards peace.

Pezeshkian blamed Israel, Iran's arch-enemy, for the collapse of talks that were in place when Israel began its strikes on Iran on June 13, starting a 12-day air war with Israel in which top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists were killed.

"How are we going to trust the United States again?" Pezeshkian said. "How can we know for sure that in the middle of the talks the Israeli regime will not be given the permission again to attack us?"

Pezeshkian also said that Israel tried to assassinate him.

"They did try, yes," he said. "They acted accordingly, but they failed."

Israel did not immediately respond to the allegation. A senior Israeli military official said last month that Israel killed more than 30 senior security officials and 11 senior nuclear scientists in its attack on to Iran's nuclear sites.

Trump said he expected to discuss Iran and its nuclear ambitions with Netanyahu, praising the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites as a tremendous success. On Friday, he told reporters that he believed Tehran's nuclear program had been set back permanently, although Iran could restart efforts elsewhere.

Iran has always denied seeking a nuclear weapon.